Veach remains Arkansas Farm Bureau Leader

Officers, seven state board members also re-elected

11/30/2012 at 12:00 a.m.

HOT SPRINGS — Randy Veach and Rich Hillman will continue as president and vice president, respectively, of Arkansas Farm Bureau following their re-election Friday. Delegates also re-elected seven board members during the final day of the organization’s 78th Annual Convention at the Hot Springs Convention Center.

Veach, 62, of Manila (Mississippi County) begins a fifth term as president. He is Arkansas Farm Bureau’s tenth president since its creation in 1935. Veach farms cotton, soybeans, rice, wheat, corn and milo in and around the community of Lost Cane near Manila. He is a third-generation farmer and farms with his son Brandon. His wife’s name is Thelma.

“I’m honored to continue serving this organization as its president,” Veach said. “The office of president is a position of service, and I’m humbled by the opportunity to continue serving the people in our agriculture community who are one of the great strengths of this state.”

Veach says that it’s important for farmers and ranchers to remain unified, especially with Congress developing a new farm bill that will cover agriculture policy during the next six years.

“We cannot be strong if we don’t work to provide a farm bill that provides an adequate safety net for all commodities,” Veach said. “We cannot be strong if we don’t work to make sure our poultry farmers, our specialty crops and our foresters all have the opportunity to make a profit. Or if our livestock producers don’t have a workable disaster program when another drought comes along.”

Veach says that’s why the farming and ranching community needs to stick together during this period of economic challenges.

Voting delegates also addressed a wide range of policy issues including positions on environmental regulation, agriculture research, taxes, elected terms for county officials, private property rights and eminent domain, and maintaining a safety net for agriculture as it relates to the upcoming farm bill.

Hillman, 49, hails from Carlisle (Lonoke County) and will begin his fourth term as vice president. He farms 4,500 acres and is a third-generation farmer. His main crops are rice, soybeans and wheat. He and his wife Tina have two children, Collin and Caroline.

Board action later resulted in the re-election of Tom Jones of Pottsville (Pope County) as Secretary/Treasurer. Jones is a cattle and hay producer. His wife Jayne is vice president of development at Arkansas Tech University.